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From Bilateralism to Community Interest FROM BILATERALISM TO COMMUNITY INTEREST Essays in Honour of Judge Bruno Simma Edited by ULRICH FASTENRATH RUDOLF GEIGER DANIEL-ERASMUS KHAN ANDREAS PAULUS SABINE voN ScHORLEMER CHRISTOPH VEDDER OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PURL: http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/56470c/ BALANCING INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY INTERESTS: REFLECTIONS ON THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT Hans-Peter Kaul and Eleni Chaitidou* I. Introduction In his 1994 lecture at The Hague Academy, Judge (then Professor) Bruno Simma examined ongoing tentative efforts in international law to overcome the traditional structures of bilateralism and give way to the formulation and pursuit of commu­ nity interests. While Bruno Simma understood bilateralism to be rooted in statal reciprocal legal relations protecting State sovereignty, he perceived the emerging concept of community interest as a 'consensus according to which respect for cer­ tain fundamental values is not to be left to the free disposition of States individu­ ally or inter se but is recognized and sanctioned by international law as a matter of concern to all States'. 1 Given the hesitation of States to react to breaches of such community interests on an inter-State level, he suggested that community interests be rather entrusted to independent institutions 'with no (or fewer) second thoughts standing in the way of true multilateralism'. 2 He pointed to the creation of the two ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, hoping that the establish­ ment of these institutions would encourage further attempts to equip community interests with adequate institutional outlays. 3 This article is a small tribute to a great scholar and eminent practitioner who so attentively and sensitively commented ongoing trends in academic discourse and practice in international law. In his long and distinguished career, Bruno Simma has provided guidance and stimuli through his impressive and overwhelming oeuvre to students, academics, practitioners, and government officials alike. In * The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the International Criminal Court. 1 B Simma, 'From Bilateralism to Community Interest in International Law' (1994) 250 Recueil des Cours de l'Academie de Droit International 233. 2 Ibid, 340. 3 Ibid. 975 PURL: http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/56470c/ Hans-Peter Kaui, Eleni Chaitidou view of his position as a Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), we trust to offer some familiar thoughts on balancing at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Essentially, the balancing exercise before the ICC involves two main interests: on the one side, there is the collective interest of States to try persons for 'the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole' and to 'put an end to impunity'.4 On the international plane, this 'communalized' interest of States has been entrusted to the ICC by dint of a multilateral treaty with a view to enforce those interests, in principle, independently and regardless of the will of States. As will be shown, other actors may join the Court in fulfilling its task. On the other side, there are particular interests advanced by various individuals or entities, including the interests of States rooted in a 'bilateralist' understanding of international relations, which either stand in opposition to the multilateralist com­ mitment or which may conflict with each other. This modest contribution seeks to provide some reflections on how community and various individual interests have been incorporated in the Rome Statute (Sections II and III), which actors it involves (Section IV) and, illustrated with three selected topics, how those interests have been balanced in the Court's early jurisprudence (Section V). Finally, the contribution concludes with a tentative resume of ongoing challenges and future perspectives of the Court (Section VI). II. Community and Individual Interests in the Making of the Rome Statute It may be argued that the developments in international law went beyond Bruno Simma's cautious appeal expressed in 1994. In the mid-1990s, approxi­ mately at the time of Bruno Simma's lecture in The Hague, several develop­ ments were underway: discussions in New York at the United Nations (UN) had gained momentum better to protect human rights through the prosecution of the most grave and heinous crimes by means of a permanent independent international criminal court. 5 The idea of an international criminal court had, 4 Paras 4 and 5 of the Preamble and Art 5(1) of the Rome Statute, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (adopted 17 July 1998, entered into force 1July2002) 2187 UNTS 3 (ICC Statute). 5 TI1e General Assembly had requested the International Law Commission (ILC) as early as 1978 to resume its work on the elaboration of a draft code of offences against the peace and secu­ rity of mankind, UNGA Res 33/97 (16 December 1978) UN Doc A/RES/33/97; reaffirmed in UNGA Res 36/106 (10 December 1981) UN Doc A/RES/36/106. By Res 44/32 (4 December 1989) UN Doc A/RES/44/32 the General Assembly asked the ILC to continue its work on a draft code of crimes against the peace and security of mankind. On 28 November 1990, the General Assembly requested the ILC to consider the possibility of establishing an international criminal 976 PURL: http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/56470c/ Balancing Individual and Community Interests: Reflections on the ICC after the creation of the International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg6 and the Far East,7 already been envisioned in Article VI of the Genocide Convention8 of 1948. The International Law Commission (ILC) had revitalized its project on the Code of Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Mankind9 and the elaboration of a draft statute for an international court.10 Previously, the inter­ national community had again been aroused by dramatic human catastrophes committed in the dismembering Yugoslavia and a little later in Rwanda. In the wake of these grave ruptures of international peace, articulating and pursuing community interests was entrusted to the UN at that time and, in particular, to its 'executive organ', the UN Security Council, responsible for the mainte­ nance of international peace and security. The 15-member UN Security Council, based on resolutions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, thus established the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) 11 and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).12 These institutions, in turn, also gave an important impetus to the ongoing law-making project within the UN for a future international criminal court. court, UNGA Res 45/41 (28 November 1990) UN Doc A/RES/45/41, which was made a matter of priority in 1992, UNGA Res 47/33 (25 November 1992) UN DocA/RES/47/33. 6 The International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg had been established on the basis of an agreement signed by four States (and later acceded to by another 19 States): see Agreement by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government of the United States of America, the Provisional Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the Prosecution and Punishment of the Major War Criminals of the European Axis, and Establishing the Charter of the International Military Tribunal (adopted and entered into force 8 August 1945) 82 UNTS 279. 7 The International Military Tribunal for the Far East had been established by Special Proclamation of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, General Douglas MacArthur, dated 19 January 1946. 8 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (adopted 9 December 1948, entered into force 12 January 1951) 78 UNTS 277. 9 ILC, 'Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind', Report of the International Law Commission on the Work of its 48th session (6 May-26 July 1996) UN Doc A/51/10, 17 et seq (with commentaries). 10 ILC, 'Draft Statute for an International Criminal Court', Report of the International Law Commission on the Work of its 46th session (2 May-22 July 1994) UN Doc A/49/10, 26 et seq (with commentaries). After receiving the ILC draft statute in 1994 the General Assembly estab­ lished an Ad Hoc Committee tasked to review major substantive and administrative issues arising out of the ILC draft stature: UNGA Res 49/53 (9 December 1994) UN Doc A/RES/49/53. 11 The accurate denomination of the tribunal is 'International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991', UNSC Res 808 (22 February 1993) UN Doc S/RES/808. l11e updated statute of the ICTY may be found at <http://www.icty.org/x/file/ Legal%20Library/Statute/statute_sept09_en.pdf> accessed 25 August 2010 (ICTY Statute). 12 The accurate denomination of the tribunal is 'International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens responsible for genocide and other such violations committed in the territory of neighbouring States between 1 Jam1ary 1994 and 31 December 1994', UNSC Res 955 (8 November 1994) UN Doc S/RES/955 (ICTR Statute). 977 PURL: http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/56470c/ Hans-Peter Kaul, Eleni Chaitidou All efforts, including the work of the Preparatory Committee over the years 1996- 98, 13 culminated in convening a multilateral conference of plenipotentiaries in the premises of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome from 15 June to 17 July 1998 14 at which the Statute of the International Criminal Court was finally adopted.15 Unlike the establishment of the international military tribunals of Nuremberg and the Far East and both ad hoc tribunals mentioned above, the creation of the ICC was a truly multilateral endeavour from the outset.
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